Techniques For Yoga Relaxation

One common characteristic that people envision with the modern lifestyle is stress. Whether at school or work, stress has become a part of one's everyday life. But you cannot afford to neglect it given the serious health implications of stress.

Using yoga to achieve relaxation and combat stress or other psychological conditions is an effective way to regain control over your body and health. There are a few techniques that you can use that are guaranteed to work in helping produce a more relaxed state of mind and body.

Hatha Yoga is basically the term used to refer to the traditionalyoga style that most people know about. This is a good technique to use in order to get started with yoga practice and move onto the more advanced styles. It consists of executing a series of yoga movements done in sequence coupled with proper breathing and mental concentration so you can get a deeper sense of relaxation.

Performing Lotus Pose

The Lotus Pose in yoga is another one of those asanas that are suitable for experiencing utmost relaxation. It is easy to get started with this pose at home for regular practice.

Begin in a seated position with your legs crossed, such that your left foot is resting on your right thigh and vice versa. Getting into this stance requires a bit of flexibility so if you are having a difficult time, start by bending your knee and using your free hand to grab onto your feet and assist it into position. Then, rest your hands on your knee with palms facing upwards and forming a circle with your index finger and thumb. This position is what is mostly associated with yoga meditation.

The Corpse Pose is one of the most relaxing yoga positions that you could ever perform, which is why it is best recommended for anyone practicing yoga for relaxation. This is a variation of the supine or lying position, so you can perform this directly against the floor or on your yoga mat. For best results, you can close your eyes while executing the corpse pose.

Take note of proper body position such that your legs are of equal width as your shoulders. Your feet must fall naturally and your arms are on either sides of your body. Turn your palm upwards though and keep them in a natural calm state. In this position, practice deep breathing in at least 5 repetitions.

Proper breathing is an important skill to learn if you want to attain relaxation and stress relief. With a modern lifestyle plagued by a lot of factors that introduce stress, it would be difficult for one to relax naturally. However, one of the benefits of yoga is to teach you excellent ways to perform breathing exercises that enable you to release tension and soothe your nerves.

There are quite a few breathing exercises that you can try to gain relaxation such as deep breathing, alternate nostril breathing, and other yogic breathing techniques.

Deep Breathing

When someone feels stressed out, you might already notice that deep breathing helps them to experience relief or release any build up of tension. This is one of the most basic exercises that can be done to achieve relaxation through the methods of yoga. Plus, if you are leading a hectic schedule, then all you need is a few minutes and you're good to go. If you have trouble performing deep breathing, you can use music or aromatherapy to facilitate in your practice.

A few important notes to consider when deep breathing for relaxation includes:

• Find a comfortable sitting position. Make sure your back is properly straight.
• Place on hand on your chest and the other on your stomach.
• Start to breathe in through your nose. Watch the hand you placed on your stomach and you should breathe deep enough to make it rise. Make sure that the hand on your chest does not rise as much as the one on your stomach.
• During exhalation, use your mouth and try to expel as much of the air as you can.
• Repeat the same process of breathing deep through your nose and exhaling through your mouth.

Through the practice of meditation, you are able to cultivate your mind and its role in providing a calmer body and state of mind. Indeed, your mind is such a powerful tool and you can use meditation to help sharpen up your mental performance without necessarily “over-thinking” the entire experience.

There are several variations to the concept of meditation and each one are useful for anyone desiring to attain complete relaxation. Here are just a few of them:

*Perform Body Scan. What this basically means during meditation is not actual physical examination. Still in line with the idea of mindfulness meditation, this one implies the need to focus your attention on certain parts of your body. Your objective is to create awareness of these body parts, which facilitate in a more successful execution of yoga asanas.

*Walking Meditation. Contrary to popular belief, you do not always have to be still in order to meditate. You could also do this by walking or engaging your body to increase sense of physicality. Make sure to bask in all of the sensation that you meet along the way to help during your meditation.

There is a false notion that most people have about meditation, which they believe happens naturally without effort or conscious thought. Contrary to this, however, meditation requires a bit of effort on the participant, such that they are able to reach the proper state of mind needed to attain a deep level of relaxation.

One of the best ways to become more efficient with your meditation and relaxation practice is to establish a routine. Here are a few things you need to get started:

• Finding a quiet environment is the most basic requirement so you can start your relaxation practice. It can be basically anywhere provided that there are no form of physical or psychological interruptions.
• The next step is to find a comfortable position. You can either do this sitting, standing, or lying on your back – the key is that you have to be comfortable enough for you to stay in that position over a given period of time.
• Establish a point of focus. This will enable you to single out an object, image, or thought and increase your ability to concentrate. As you become focused on a single object or image, you will not lose awareness of the surroundings but you will gain the ability to block them out.
• Learn about what are the essential physical requirements of practicing yoga relaxation. This will enable you to eliminate any form of limitations that might take place as you practice yoga relaxation so you can achieve more success.